Daily Devotional

September 14, 2018

Are You Preparing For Heaven?

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 1 Cor. 2:9.

What a work is before us. We need greater faith in Christ and the Father, for this we must certainly have, else we shall be counted with the unbelievers. We see great opportunities and a great amount of work to do. We want the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. We cannot afford to miss the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. The sanctification of the truth, confirming man’s steadfastness in the faith, will constitute men laborers together with God.

United with the Source of all power, persevering in duty, enlarging the apprehension of the love of God in Christ Jesus, they become one with Christ, until they are complete with Christ in God.

The glories that await the faithful overcomer are beyond any description. The Lord will greatly honor and exalt His faithful ones. They shall grow like the cedar, and their comprehension will be certainly increasing. And at every advanced stage of knowledge their anticipation will fall far beneath the reality. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). Our work now is to prepare for those mansions that God is preparing for those who love Him and keep His commandments…. The Lord Jesus will enlarge every mind and heart for the reception of the Holy Spirit. . . .

Time is short. Let the little time you have be employed for your own present and eternal good by active Christian service, doing all the good possible. Redeem the time that has been lost; seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Then you will have something to impart in good works, in cheerful, consecrated influence. . . .

What preparation have you made for the future, eternal world? . . . You want something higher and better than you now have. You may exert a conscious and unconscious influence in right doing. God deserves something better from you as His subject than that which you have given Him. Carefully consider: Are you standing under the banner of Prince Emmanuel, or under the black banner of the prince of darkness? There is an obligation resting upon you to return the influence and money that is lent you of the Lord to advance His cause and glorify His name.

The Lord calls upon you, “My son, give me thine heart.”

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 265.

Daily Devotional

September 13, 2018

Christ Calls For Unity

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. John 17:21.

We each need the help we can receive from other minds. God will work in other minds than ours. The various gifts given to different ones are to blend for the “perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). . . .

The Lord Jesus Christ will heal our infirmities and our weaknesses. He owns us. We are His by creation and by redemption. We must all be united in Him. He is the only source of healing. All restoring power comes from Him. He has opened a fountain “to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.” He gives each one an invitation to come and be healed, and to drink of the water of life. Let us not trust in ourselves, but in Jesus.

There will always be obstacles before us, but we are to follow our Leader, and meet our difficulties unitedly, hand in hand. There is only one way to heaven. We must walk in the footsteps of Jesus, doing His works, even as He did the works of His Father. We must study His ways, not man’s ways; we must obey His will, not our own. Walk carefully. Do not go ahead of Christ. Make no move without consulting your Leader. Ask in humble prayer, and “ye shall receive.” He is the Way, the Truth, the Life.

Read and study carefully the prayer that Christ offered just before His trial, recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John. Follow its teachings, and you will be brought into unity. Our only hope of reaching heaven is to be one with Christ, and then, in and through Christ, we shall be one with one another. No one is called to walk alone. In Christ life and immortality are brought to light. He has opened the way to the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in Him, but He assigns to no one a path different to that which all must travel. He calls for unity, and unity we must have. God asks us to sink self in Christ. For the natural man this is not easy. But through the power of the incarnation of Christ, God manifest in the flesh, the strength of God is revealed in gentleness and beauty. To “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.” By this power we may overcome our evil tendencies and so modify our imperfect dispositions that the will of God may be fulfilled in us.

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 264.

Daily Devotional

September 12, 2018

The Word Of God Your Guide

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Ps. 119:105.

If we would work wisely and intelligently, our human passions, our hereditary and cultivated tendencies, must be brought under the control of a higher and more commanding generalship than human ability. . . .

“Cease to do evil; learn to do well.” This is the lesson everyone should learn day by day. The training due to one’s self comes first. The influence exerted by a life of strict integrity will be a continual education to others. Those who are restrained and guided by the moral and religious principles plainly laid down in God’s Word walk in accordance with the mind and will of God, who is too wise to err and too good to do us harm.

If you would walk wisely, walk in the way of God’s commandments. The Word of God you have in your keeping, right at hand. This Word is so plain that none need go astray unless they allow themselves to be led by their hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong. Your Redeemer met Satan’s treacherous advances with the words, “It is written,” and with the imperative command, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” I counsel you to receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your soul. The Word of God is your haven. It is a tower of strength, into which you may run and be safe. . . .

The earnest, sincere searcher for truth will not mistake truth for error. The Word of God is the bread of life, of which all may partake and obtain eternal life. Error is falsehood and deception. Those who partake of it must suffer in consequence, as did Adam and Eve in Eden. It is the privilege of all to search with prayerful, eager interest for the truth. Truth is the tree of life, the leaves of which the human family are to eat and live.

Those who try to interpret the Word according to their own ideas, who read it in accordance with their opinions, will never see the truth, and will die in their sins. Those who eat of the forbidden tree accept Satan’s fallacies in the place of “Thus saith the Lord,” and unless they repent, they will never gain that life which measures with the life of God. As did Adam and Eve, they exclude themselves from the tree of life, the fruit of which perpetuates immortality. . . .

We are living amid the solemnities of the judgment. Our souls should be filled with awe, for we are in God’s presence continually. Each one must decide for himself whether he will obey and live or disobey and perish.

To those who obey, the Word of God is the tree of life. It is the word of salvation, received unto eternal life.

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 263.

Daily Devotional

September 11, 2018

Things Thou Knowest Not

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jer. 33:3.

We do not always consider that the sanctification we so earnestly desire and for which we pray so earnestly is brought about through the truth and, by the providence of God, in a manner we least expect. When we look for joy, behold there is sorrow. When we expect peace, we frequently have distrust and doubt because we find ourselves plunged into trials we cannot avoid. In these trials we are having the answers to our prayers. In order for us to be purified, the fire of affliction must kindle upon us, and our will must be brought into conformity to the will of God. In order to be conformed to the image of our Saviour, we pass through a most painful process of refining. The very ones that we regard the most dear upon the earth may cause us the greatest sorrow and trial. They may view us in the wrong light. They may think us in error, and that we are deceiving and degrading ourselves because we follow the dictates of enlightened conscience in seeking for the truth as for hid treasures. . . .

Our prayers for conformity to the image of Christ may not be answered exactly as we desire. We may be tested and proved, for God sees it best to put us under a course of discipline which is essential for us before we are fit subjects for the blessing we crave. We should not become discouraged and give way to doubt, and think that our prayers are not noticed. We should rely more securely upon Christ and leave our case with God to answer our prayers in His own way. God has not promised to bestow His blessings through the channels we have marked out. God is too wise to err and too regardful of our good to allow us to choose for ourselves.

The plans of God are always the best, although we may not always discern them. Perfection of Christian character can be obtained only through labor, conflict, and self-denial. . . .

How inestimably precious are the gifts of God—the graces of His Spirit—and we shall not shrink from the trying, testing process, be it ever so painful or humiliating to us. How easy would be the way to heaven if there were no self-denial or cross! How worldlings would rush in the way, and hypocrites would travel in it without number! Thank God for the cross, the self-denial. The ignominy and shame our Saviour endured for us is none too humiliating for those saved by the purchase of His blood. Heaven will indeed be cheap enough.

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 262.

Daily Devotional

September 10, 2018

Christlike Love Blends Heart With Heart

With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. Eph. 4:12.

God is love. The love of the Father and the Son is an attribute of every believer. The Word of God is the channel through which divine love is communicated to man. God’s truth is the medium by which the intellect is reached. The Holy Spirit is given to the human agent who works in cooperation with divine agencies. It transforms mind and character, enabling man to endure as seeing Him who is invisible. Perfect love can be enjoyed only through the belief of the truth and the reception of the Holy Spirit. . . .

Christ prayed that His disciples might realize the importance of the love that He expressed by giving His life for the world. He desired them to understand something in regard to His infinite sacrifice. If they had more fully understood His self-sacrificing love, they would never have engaged in alienation and strife.

I urge all who claim to believe present truth to practice that truth. If they do this, they will have a stronger and more powerful influence for good. The world will see that the love expressed by believers is the central and controlling principle of Christ’s followers. Christlike love blends heart with heart. The truth draws men together. It brings into harmony and unity all who have an earnest, living faith in the Saviour. Christ designs those who believe in Him to develop and become strong by association with one another. All who work unselfishly in the Master’s service bear credentials to the world that God has sent His Son to this earth.

Although a company of Christians united in church capacity have not all the same talents, yet it is the duty of everyone to work. Talents differ, but to every man is given his work. All are dependent upon Christ in God. He is the glorious Head of all grades and classes of people associated through faith in the Word of God. Bound together by a common belief in heavenly principles, they are all dependent on Him who is the Author and Finisher of their faith. He has created the principles that produce universal oneness, universal love. His followers should meditate upon His love. They should not stop short of reaching the standard set before them. If the principles of Christianity are lived, they will produce universal harmony and perfect peace. When the heart is imbued with the Spirit of Christ, there is no quarreling, no seeking for the supremacy, no striving to be reigning lords.

From Devotional: Our Father Cares, p. 261.